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Seifsa wage deal set to bring stability to metals and engineering sector

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Thursday, 24 August 2017 15:40

BusinessLive reports that parties in the metals and engineering sector signed a 2017-20 wage agreement on Wednesday, after four months of tense negotiations at the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC).

Wages will rise 7% from July 2017; by 6.75% from July 2018 and by 6.5% in the third year. This was the first time in a decade that parties had reached settlement without resorting to industrial action. Kaizer Nyatsumba of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) said the wage deal would bring much-needed stability in the sector, which had bled 25,000 jobs since 2014. A proud Irvin Jim of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) said: “We stopped employers from implementing the fake national minimum wage of R20 per hour and we also prevented them from downgrading varying basic conditions and eroding our hard won benefits." Numsa had initially demanded a 15% increase across the board, while employers had initially proposed that the R20 an hour national minimum wage be paid to new, unskilled employees. Non-signatories included the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa). Marius Croucamp of Solidarity said the agreement had created hope, security and certainty for employees in the industry. Other union signatories were the United Association of SA, Metal and Electrical Workers Union of SA and the SA Equity Workers Association.